NBW against Mallya, other KFA bosses

A Hyderabad city court issued a non-bailable warrant of arrest on Friday against ailing Kingfisher Airlines (KFA) promoter Vijay Mallya , CEO Sanjay Agarwal and three other directors in a cheque-bounce case filed by GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd (GHIAL).

A special magistrate’s court issued the NBW after Mallya and the others failed to appear before it despite summons issued to them, GMR counsel JB Chenna Keshava Rao said.

He added that GHIAL had filed the case against KFA and its directors in August after four cheques for R10.50 crore issued by the airline for user charges had bounced.

The court has posted the case for hearing on November 5.

Earlier, the counsel for KFA filed an application before the court over non-appearance of his clients and requested the court not to issue the NBW but the judge dismissed the plea.

A KFA spokesperson in Mumbai said, “We have not been served with any warrants.”

Lockout extended

Meanwhile, KFA extended its partial lockout till October 20 as efforts to resolve the strike by its employees over the past few days failed to take off. The cash-strapped carrier was forced to stop flight operations on October 1 after employees — pilots, engineers and ground staff — refused to work, citing non-payment of salaries since March.